Elvis Stamp

The immense success of the new Elvis Presley postage stamp confirms the notion that sometimes death can be a great career move.Tomorrow, on the 58th anniversary of the birth of the King of Rock and Roll, 500 million of the 29-cent commemorative stamps bearing the image of the young, lean, curled-lip Elvis will be offered for sale by the U.S. Postal Service.A run of 300 million stamps had initially been planned -- double the usual number for a commemorative stamp. But an unprecedented avalanche of advance orders led the Postal Service to increase the printing to a half billion.

Walk, don't run, to your nearest post office: The Elvis stamps have not left the building -- not entirely anyway.Early yesterday morning, one had to wonder whether 500 million stamps of the young Elvis could feed this nation's hunger. One man reportedly began waiting at the main post office downtown at 9 a.m. for a sale that didn't begin until noon.Signs at most postal stations alerted customers to a 400-stamp daily limit ($116 worth); if you wanted to spend $200 for Elvis stamps, you'd have to return another day. Mail-order brochures advertised the sale of the program from the "first day" ceremony at the Presley mansion, Graceland, for $6, but only if purchased with another Elvis stamp memorabilia, priced at $12 to $20. We hadn't seen anything like this since the Camden Yards Opening Day program riots.

While novice collectors are expected to put on their blue suede shoes and start buying when the Elvis Presley commemorative stamp finally becomes reality, experts don't expect it to be a financial boon for anyone but the U.S. Postal Service.The stamp, which has braved critics who say Elvis isn't worthy, will be a hit -- after Americans cast votes on whether to go with a "young" or "old" Elvis physiognomy, that is. Just don't expect the Elvis stamp to be an investment hit."Release of the stamp is going to bring collecting to legions of Elvis fans, who have been lobbying long and hard for such a stamp," said Michael Laurence, editor-publisher of Linn's Stamp News.

There was one line for Elvis and another line for everything else.The postal clerk bellowed: "Is anyone here for anything other than Elvis?"No one answered.Everyone was in the Elvis line.By noon, it numbered more than a hundred, and had snaked out the door and into the parking lot.This occurred at the United States Post Office in Brooklyn Park, where, at noon on what would have been the 58th birthday of Elvis Presley, postage stamps honoring the King of Rock and Roll were offered to an eager public.

There was one line for Elvis and another line for everything else.The postal clerk bellowed: "Is anyone here for anything other than Elvis?"No one answered.Everyone was in the Elvis line.By noon, it numbered more than a hundred, and had snaked out the door and into the parking lot.This occurred at the United States Post Office in Brooklyn Park, where, at noon on what would have been the 58th birthday of Elvis Presley, postage stamps honoring the King of Rock and Roll were offered to an eager public.

And so here we are, poised for a new year, and as it hurts to be poised -- especially if you haven't been doing your aerobics -- we won't keep you much longer.Be thankful if you got through 1992 with your spirits intact. It's been another year of dreadful news around the globe.From the homicidal streets of America's cities, including Baltimore, to the devastation of Hurricane Andrew to the stark tragedies of Somalia and what used to be Yugoslavia, 1992 was another fertile year for misery.

PUTTING Elvis Presley on a postage stamp is becoming a sticky situation, even among his fans.While most of his admirers are thrilled that the first-class stamp will finally be issued next year, many are posting concern about what it will look like and how it will be distributed. And detractors are still saying that Elvis' drug abuse and lifestyle in later years make him a poor candidate for postage prestige.Elvis' fans -- and foes, too -- will be able to pick between two original renderings of The King, marking the first time in U.S Postal Service history that a stamp's design is determined by popular vote.

Fifteen years after his death, Elvis Presley has another No. 1 hit.Only days after a mass mailing of some 800,000 brochures to people who voted in the "young Elvis-bloated Elvis" popularity contest last April, telephone orders began pouring in for a 29-cent stamp that is well on its way to becoming the best-selling piece of gummed paper in U.S. history.Although the Elvis stamp will not be available until Jan. 8, the 58th anniversary of the rock and roller's birth, postal officials are worrying that the initial printing of 300 million -- double the normal commemorative issue -- won't meet demand.

After years of lobbying by the fans, there is finally goingto be an Elvis stamp. But some people aren't sure Presley is a suitable subject. What do you think? Should Elvis be on a postage stamp? And if so, should the portrait be of the young Elvis or the older Elvis?To register your opinion, call SUNDIAL at 783-1800 (or 286-7736 in Anne Arundel County) today through midnight. It's a free call. After you hear the greeting, you'll be asked to punch in a four-digit code on your touch-tone phone.

WE HAVE A suggestion for consumer gadfly Ralph Nader: lighten up. Now the self-made public ombudsman has reacted in outraged and sanctimonious tones against the Postal Service's promotion of its poll to determine the design of a commemorative stamp in honor of Elvis Presley.Mr. Nader calls it "ballyhoo" and "a costly trivialization and diversion of the Post Office's main purpose: the dependable and reliable delivery of the mail." He even attacked an old nemesis, former postmaster general Anthony Frank, who authorized the Elvis stamp, calling it his "final zany pirouette."

Can somebody please explain the Elvis phenomenon to me? Seriously. I want to understand.There are many things that confuse me. For example, quantum physics confuses me.How Joey Buttafuoco became a talk-show guest confuses me.But nothing has got me stumped like the Elvis thing. It's not the stamp. The stamp I understand. The much-anticipated Elvis stamp -- there will be lines today at the post office like they're giving away money -- is pure kitsch. It's the same as a Mickey Mouse watch. It's not unlike this lamp shaped in the form of a '55 T-bird I once tried to convince my wife to put in the den and that is now resting comfortably in a box in the garage.

The immense success of the new Elvis Presley postage stamp confirms the notion that sometimes death can be a great career move.Tomorrow, on the 58th anniversary of the birth of the King of Rock and Roll, 500 million of the 29-cent commemorative stamps bearing the image of the young, lean, curled-lip Elvis will be offered for sale by the U.S. Postal Service.A run of 300 million stamps had initially been planned -- double the usual number for a commemorative stamp. But an unprecedented avalanche of advance orders led the Postal Service to increase the printing to a half billion.

And so here we are, poised for a new year, and as it hurts to be poised -- especially if you haven't been doing your aerobics -- we won't keep you much longer.Be thankful if you got through 1992 with your spirits intact. It's been another year of dreadful news around the globe.From the homicidal streets of America's cities, including Baltimore, to the devastation of Hurricane Andrew to the stark tragedies of Somalia and what used to be Yugoslavia, 1992 was another fertile year for misery.

Fifteen years after his death, Elvis Presley has another No. 1 hit.Only days after a mass mailing of some 800,000 brochures to people who voted in the "young Elvis-bloated Elvis" popularity contest last April, telephone orders began pouring in for a 29-cent stamp that is well on its way to becoming the best-selling piece of gummed paper in U.S. history.Although the Elvis stamp will not be available until Jan. 8, the 58th anniversary of the rock and roller's birth, postal officials are worrying that the initial printing of 300 million -- double the normal commemorative issue -- won't meet demand.

Stamp collectors take note: The tiny island nation of St. Vincent in the West Indies has issued a set of nine Elvis Presley postage stamps, which are being exclusively distributed in the United States by three Baltimoreans, Jeffrey Franz and Howard Friedman of Watermark Press, and Scott Tilson of the International Collectors Society.It's thanks to the contacts that Tilson has made in 14 years of dealing with rare coins and stamps that they got the distributing rights. I am told that St. Vincent is one of several countries that issue stamps primarily for collectors.

WE HAVE A suggestion for consumer gadfly Ralph Nader: lighten up. Now the self-made public ombudsman has reacted in outraged and sanctimonious tones against the Postal Service's promotion of its poll to determine the design of a commemorative stamp in honor of Elvis Presley.Mr. Nader calls it "ballyhoo" and "a costly trivialization and diversion of the Post Office's main purpose: the dependable and reliable delivery of the mail." He even attacked an old nemesis, former postmaster general Anthony Frank, who authorized the Elvis stamp, calling it his "final zany pirouette."

Walk, don't run, to your nearest post office: The Elvis stamps have not left the building -- not entirely anyway.Early yesterday morning, one had to wonder whether 500 million stamps of the young Elvis could feed this nation's hunger. One man reportedly began waiting at the main post office downtown at 9 a.m. for a sale that didn't begin until noon.Signs at most postal stations alerted customers to a 400-stamp daily limit ($116 worth); if you wanted to spend $200 for Elvis stamps, you'd have to return another day. Mail-order brochures advertised the sale of the program from the "first day" ceremony at the Presley mansion, Graceland, for $6, but only if purchased with another Elvis stamp memorabilia, priced at $12 to $20. We hadn't seen anything like this since the Camden Yards Opening Day program riots.

By J.D. Considine and J.D. Considine,Pop Music Critic | April 13, 1992

When it first started, the move to put Elvis Presley on a postage stamp seemed simple enough. Elvis, the fans pointed out, was perhaps the most acclaimed and influential popular musician of his day, a singer whose sound resonated in the hearts of listeners around the globe. All they wanted, then, was a simple memorial of the sort routinely bestowed on poets, painters and politicians.Some folks didn't want Elvis messing with the U.S. mail, however, and immediately marked the idea "return to sender."

Oh, you go ahead and mope about the listless economy and the desultory presidential campaign and the latest crackpot world leader making a name for himself.Me, I've got something a little more pressing on my mind right now, namely: How's the balloting going for that new Elvis stamp?The answer, of course, is that it's the biggest thing to hit the post office since those snappy summer uniforms the mail carriers wear -- you know, the ones with the drab POW-gray shorts and attractive knee-length black socks.

All of Hawaii ran out on the first day, and Bloomington, Ind., of all places, has run dry as well. In the Baltimore area, they're still available at some locations, but not others, although more are on their way.The 5 million ballots that the U.S. Postal Service began distributing a week ago asking the public if it wants a younger or an older Elvis Presley on an upcoming stamp have been flying out of post offices. But not all of them are coming back in to be tallied."There must be some people taking a lot of them at a time, thinking they're going to be collectors' items some day," said Robin Minard, a postal service spokeswoman.